Predictions for 11AA

[31ballfan]

Harpeth has Cheatham this week, hard to believe we have played 4 district games and already feel like we neeed to win out in order to compete. I'm not sure if Jekyl or Hyde will show up today, we have played so well at times, and equally bad at others. The team chemistry seems to come and go, depending on the effort. We are capable of beating any team inthe district, but also capable of getting run ruled by MC. Hopefully we can settle down and do work for the balance of the season. What is up with 4 out of 7 teams in the district not supporting a JV program? Where do they expect to get next years starters from? It really hurts your program not to have the JV team engaged and getting playing time, most of these kids are nowhere near ready to play varsity and desperately need playing time. I think it is pretty short sighted to take a year off from JV.

 

Hopefully we can get a big win tonight and get back on track to finish the season strong!

Waverly doesn't have the numbers. No seniors, 2 juniors (one with a shoulder injury), 5 sophomores, and 9 freshman. 5 or 6 freshmen are playing varsity and playing jv is going to require some to of them to play 5 to 7 games a week. Most freshman arent ready for that, especially when they are having to pitch varsity already. I would fully expect them to have jv next year though. I can't speak for the other schools.

Edited April 9, 2012 by 31ballfan

[mkd24]

Camden sweeps Creekwood 13-9 at Creekwood and 13-2 in five innings at Camden. Looks like the Camden/MC matchup may decide the district. I didn't go to Creekwood last night but even though it was a run rule tonight Creekwood just didn't have any luck. Two line drive double plays and one 6-4-3 double play got Camden out of innings when Creekwood was threatening. And a few mistakes by Creekwood's defense opened the floodgates a couple of times. Bottom of the first Camden's #2 hitter hit an opposite field hr to tie the game and all you heard from Creekwoods players was how it was a pop up on their field. It looked like it got in their heads. Next ball hit that direction was dropped by the fielder and Camden scored two more.

[ksgovols]

I think the short porch does get in opposing teams heads at Camden. Pitchers trying to hit a spot. Hitters trying to knock it out. I thought the new bats would take some of that edge away.

 

Harpeth picked up 2 wins over Cheatham with 2 4 inning games. 13-0 at home with Presley on the mound and 38-0? at Cheatham with a different guy every inning, Brandon Foriest not being one of them. Varsity played 2 innings and put up 20, JV played 2 and put up 18. I don't know what you have to do in this district to get JV games, but not having a JV program shows up most of the time in the varsity games. On occasion Waverly, Stewart County and Cheatham have had competitive baseball teams, typically when there is a dominant pitcher on the squad but Montgomery Central and Creekwood in particular have embraced their JV programs for years. Don't know about Camden and Harpeth's effort has traditionally been a notch below CW and MC's. Depends on the coach of which there has been no shortage.

[Gerry Bertier]

I think the short porch does get in opposing teams heads at Camden. Pitchers trying to hit a spot. Hitters trying to knock it out. I thought the new bats would take some of that edge away.

 

Harpeth picked up 2 wins over Cheatham with 2 4 inning games. 13-0 at home with Presley on the mound and 38-0? at Cheatham with a different guy every inning, Brandon Foriest not being one of them. Varsity played 2 innings and put up 20, JV played 2 and put up 18. I don't know what you have to do in this district to get JV games, but not having a JV program shows up most of the time in the varsity games. On occasion Waverly, Stewart County and Cheatham have had competitive baseball teams, typically when there is a dominant pitcher on the squad but Montgomery Central and Creekwood in particular have embraced their JV programs for years. Don't know about Camden and Harpeth's effort has traditionally been a notch below CW and MC's. Depends on the coach of which there has been no shortage.

 

Like has been previously stated some schools just don't have enough players to field a JV squad. When a school has 15 players come out for baseball and the coach does not cut anyone, then has 2 players decide its not for them. How is a team going to field a JV team?

 

Certain schools are blessed with athletes who want to play baseball, other schools are not. You can roam the halls and encourage players to play, but we all know baseball is a game where it is important not to take seasons off.

 

Does it make a difference having a JV squad? Yes. Should we criticize coaches who do not field a JV team? No, because most of the time it is because of numbers that they do not.

[31ballfan]

I think the short porch does get in opposing teams heads at Camden. Pitchers trying to hit a spot. Hitters trying to knock it out. I thought the new bats would take some of that edge away.

 

Harpeth picked up 2 wins over Cheatham with 2 4 inning games. 13-0 at home with Presley on the mound and 38-0? at Cheatham with a different guy every inning, Brandon Foriest not being one of them. Varsity played 2 innings and put up 20, JV played 2 and put up 18. I don't know what you have to do in this district to get JV games, but not having a JV program shows up most of the time in the varsity games. On occasion Waverly, Stewart County and Cheatham have had competitive baseball teams, typically when there is a dominant pitcher on the squad but Montgomery Central and Creekwood in particular have embraced their JV programs for years. Don't know about Camden and Harpeth's effort has traditionally been a notch below CW and MC's. Depends on the coach of which there has been no shortage.

Waverly has 550 kids in the entire school now, we are not exactly far from being single A at this point.

[ksgovols]

Like has been previously stated some schools just don't have enough players to field a JV squad. When a school has 15 players come out for baseball and the coach does not cut anyone, then has 2 players decide its not for them. How is a team going to field a JV team?

 

Certain schools are blessed with athletes who want to play baseball, other schools are not. You can roam the halls and encourage players to play, but we all know baseball is a game where it is important not to take seasons off.

 

Does it make a difference having a JV squad? Yes. Should we criticize coaches who do not field a JV team? No, because most of the time it is because of numbers that they do not.

 

 

I hear you. It's hard work building a baseball program. All of these teams have JV football teams which requires 2-3 times the players. All the private schools have A numbers and have outstanding JV programs. Harpeth has maybe 50-75 more kids than Waverly, most of the time they have fewer than Cheatham. I recognize that Central and Creekwood have more numbers, but that's not all of the problem. Alot of it is apathy. Cheatham Middle played on a field down there at John's Park that didn't even have regulation dimensions and their principal would tell you in a heart beat that they were a basketball school.

 

The bigger issue is that there are fewer and fewer 2 sport athletes, much less athletes that participate in 3 sports. These teams are not sharing their resources like they should and it's critical for A and AA schools. Next, baseball takes alot of money to operate a top notch program. Keeping a field up and buying uniforms and gear takes alot of $$$ per player. More work in the way of fundraising or having to charge kids lot's of $$$ to play. Need to run a summer program to have success. Same ones with JV teams are the same ones that play summer ball. That's just effort. Lastly, the minor league program for high school baseball is the middle schools and youth leagues that feed the high school. They have to be healthy and you have to keep kids interested. Baseball doesn't require size and speed so much as football or basketball does but it's one of those sports where you have to keep playing to improve. You can't wait until 7th grade to start and you can't lay out 3 or 4 years and pick right up where you left off. I'm extremely disappointed in where the level of baseball in the district has settled from top to bottom since Sycamore left the district. It's a minor sport because it's treated like one.

[Littlegar]

Waverly has always had a jv scedule until this year. However, when you have only 17 players and two of them decide in late Jan. they are going to focus on AAU basketball it leaves you very thin. Their senior class is non existent and only one junior. It happens with smaller schools. Next year their numbers should be back up and hopefully and jv schedule can resume. You are right about sports sharing athletes KSgovols. In smaller school athletes have to be shared. All it takes is one coach who decides his sport is more important or better than everyone else's and numbers become a huge issue. Fortunately here at Waverly our coaches understand this, or at least those who coach on the male side do, and willingly share athletes and work together. It is certainly not the desire of any coach a Waverly not to have a jv schedule sometimes it is just not possible.

[coachcutt]

I have been patiently waiting for two days to hear from howditknow2 on the Cheatham/Harpeth results, nothing yet. I have never in all my years seen such a mismatch as I did Tuesday night. The score was bad, but how bad could it have been. Harpeth did not play varsity but 2 innings, they were holding runners after the first inning. Its hard to gloat after such a beating, but I went back and read some of the posts from basketball season just to put me in the mood. I just can't imagine how Cheatham beat Stewart county. Just saying....

[howdoitknow]

Harpeth is a very good baseball team. The Pressley kid is a fine pitcher.

 

Cheatham County is a baseball team with no stability. Cheatham's best athletes that play football and basketball do not even want anything to do with baseball. They want to focus on football and basketball because for the longest time baseball has been a joke.

 

Why??????????

 

Since Mark Whittworth resigned in 2004 as baseball coach this position has been a "revolving door". Spatz, Puckett, Patterson, Wagner, Finley, Boyd, and now Stone. That's since the 2005 baseball season

 

NOW THAT WE'VE ESTABLISHED THIS..........

 

In 18 weeks (from tonight) you can come to Ashland City and see the best athletes at Cheatham County Central High School.

 

In 28 weeks (from tonight) you can go to the football field at Harpeth and see them up close in person.

 

3 months later (from the 28 weeks) you can see them on the basketball court against Harpeth.

[howdoitknow]

Harpeth is a very good baseball team. The Pressley kid is a fine pitcher.

 

Cheatham County is a baseball team with no stability. Cheatham's best athletes that play football and basketball do not even want anything to do with baseball. They want to focus on football and basketball because for the longest time baseball has been a joke.

 

Why??????????

 

Since Mark Whittworth resigned in 2004 as baseball coach this position has been a "revolving door". Spatz, Puckett, Patterson, Wagner, Finley, Boyd, and now Stone. That's since the 2005 baseball season

 

NOW THAT WE'VE ESTABLISHED THIS..........

 

In 18 weeks (from tonight) you can come to Ashland City and see the best athletes at Cheatham County Central High School.

 

In 28 weeks (from tonight) you can go to the football field at Harpeth and see them up close in person.

 

3 months later (from the 28 weeks) you can see them on the basketball court against Harpeth.

 

 

I will also mention that some of Cheatham's "good athletes" (i.e. Willie Presley & Jacinto Espinosa who were starters on the football team last year) do play soccer. The men's soccer team defeated Creek Wood last night by a score of 20-0.

 

Outside of Garrett Potts and Cody Anderson (from 2007, 2008, and 2009) I wouldn't say that Cheatham County baseball has had a standout performer that could play at one of the other 2 schools in the county (Harpeth or Sycamore).

 

Baseball just doesn't get the quality student-athletes. Matt Brown is truthfully the only "quality" athlete that plays baseball.

 

Mitchell Potts, Thatcher Brinkley, Desmond Sweatt, Jake Saunders, Wesley Harlan, Josh Weaks, Jordan Darden, Devin Conner, Dakota White, etc., etc., etc.....................those guys do not want anything to do with baseball!

[ksgovols]

I will also mention that some of Cheatham's "good athletes" (i.e. Willie Presley & Jacinto Espinosa who were starters on the football team last year) do play soccer. The men's soccer team defeated Creek Wood last night by a score of 20-0.

 

Outside of Garrett Potts and Cody Anderson (from 2007, 2008, and 2009) I wouldn't say that Cheatham County baseball has had a standout performer that could play at one of the other 2 schools in the county (Harpeth or Sycamore).

 

Baseball just doesn't get the quality student-athletes. Matt Brown is truthfully the only "quality" athlete that plays baseball.

 

Mitchell Potts, Thatcher Brinkley, Desmond Sweatt, Jake Saunders, Wesley Harlan, Josh Weaks, Jordan Darden, Devin Conner, Dakota White, etc., etc., etc.....................those guys do not want anything to do with baseball!

 

 

That's a shame. I would say that more baseball players in the state of Tennessee extend their education to college through baseball than any other sport. Now, they don't get full rides oftentimes because of Title IX restraints, but they can get their foot in the door.

[coachcutt]

From now on when we get beat in basketball or football we need not use the, " we were flat". From now on when we get beat I will just say, we are missing some of our better athletes who chose no to play this sport.